Mathilde
Riberholdt Jensen
Dampmølleparken
71, 4930 Maribo
E-mail:
me0ma0chole@gmail.com
(zeroes between syllables)
Phone:
+45 30 13 49 90
Portfolio
link: http://mattsadmission.blogspot.dk/
Dear
admission board.
My
name is Mathilde Riberholdt Jensen.
I’m
a 22 year old young woman from Lolland. I like to go by “Matt”
amongst friends and acquaintances.
I am applying for the Graphic Storytelling programme as it has been a long-standing dream of mine to create graphic novels and comic books. I have chosen to apply to this specific programme as I feel it is the best choice for me to follow my passion of doing what I love the most – creating unique art and tell thrilling stories for a living.
My
interest began when I was in 5th
grade. I would often lose myself for hours on end in the comic books
I would borrow from the school library. I found a particular liking
for Peter Madsen's “Valhalla” and have later read a wide range of
different series through the years. Pretty much everything between
Akira Toriyama's “Dragon Ball” to Art Spiegelmann's “Maus”.
I
have been drawing and painting since I was 5 years old and I can't
imagine ever doing anything else.
I
aspire to working freelance and creating my own stories and get them
published, but I hope to start off by working for other more
experienced people in the industry. Afterwards I plan to start
networking till I have enough experience to work on my own. For the
moment I strive to learn more about the industry and become as good
as possible at mastering the craft. Since I left school I have been
starving to learn more and get back to a fulfilling routine. The very
idea of attending TAW and experiencing the learning environment is
very exciting to me.
I
strive to become better at building a solid story and create dynamic
characters and environments and I generally miss getting a
professional input. Mainly, I like to keep my work traditional and in
graytones, but I know the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop and I used
to own and use a Wacom Intuos tablet frequently. When coloring my
art, I enjoy using Ecoline, watercolors and twin markers from various
brands like Copic Ciao and Shinhan Touch Liners.
It
has been very positive for me to see how the comic book industry has
developed in the past few years and how more and more artists are
broadening their horizon to create diverse characters that represent
a broad spectrum of people with different skin color, sexual
orientations, gender identities and so forth. This is a part of the
industry I am very passionate about and I hope to one day publish
something in that genre.
To
name a few of my inspirations I should start with Rafael Albuquerque.
He is probably the main inspiration behind the way my drawing styles
have developed the past few years. I fell head over heels in love
with his work many years ago, after reading “American Vampire”.
He simply has a way to make his stylized illustrations work in a perfect balance between the realistic and cartoonish along with a staggering dynamic that makes everything he creates seem so effortless and yet on point.
He simply has a way to make his stylized illustrations work in a perfect balance between the realistic and cartoonish along with a staggering dynamic that makes everything he creates seem so effortless and yet on point.
Lars
Von Trier is also a man whose work I admire a lot since he has little
to no problem with presenting the darker corners of the human psyche
on the screen in a way that keeps me captivated till the very end.
I
also consider myself a fan of the works of Anders Thomas Jensen. His
way of making his disturbed characters interact on screen really
intrigues me.
This
of course, makes it easy for me to mention “American Vampire”
written by Scott Snyder as one of my favorite works. It was the first
comic featuring the art by the amazing Rafael Albuquerque that I
read. I was spellbound from the start to discover this horror story
with a plausible modern take on vampires as I prefer them.
Besides
that, basically any work by Brian K. Vaughan will always captivate
me. I am a proud collector of his “Saga” and “Y: The Last
Man”-series. Vaughan has an amazing ability to break boundaries
between gender stereotypes and romantic clichés that always keep me
entertained and inspired. Even though he has broken my heart a few
times.
Lastly
Blacksad by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido has a very special
place in my heart. I am deeply infatuated with this series. I love
how this anthropomorphic Disney-looking noir universe deals with
adult topics of drugs, murder, racism painted in flawless watercolor.
I
have not encountered any creative product that I ”hate” per se,
but I will say that some of the things I am less impressed by than
others, is Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. I don't care much
for his gritty art style and the fact that I don't feel he did the
Batman character much justice.
I was also disappointed by Disney's “Frozen” as I do not feel the film itself lived up to all the good things I had heard about it. One could say it was simply overhyped for me. However, I feel as if Disney could have kept the script closer to the source material by H.C. Andersen and had just as much success, and a stronger story. Like many others I grew up watching Disney and this was the first film I watched that didn't leave me with a sense of nostalgia.
Even though it is cliché, my last example is the Twilight movie franchise. I consider myself a big horror fan and I was far from pleased with the way the movies portrayed modern vampires and werewolves. Something else that really displeased me about the films was the less than mediocre writing done and the obviously Mary Sue-esque character of Bella Swan. Besides that I didn't feel the movies portrayed what could be considered a healthy relationship between the main characters which I think is really important to take into consideration in modern mainstream films.
I was also disappointed by Disney's “Frozen” as I do not feel the film itself lived up to all the good things I had heard about it. One could say it was simply overhyped for me. However, I feel as if Disney could have kept the script closer to the source material by H.C. Andersen and had just as much success, and a stronger story. Like many others I grew up watching Disney and this was the first film I watched that didn't leave me with a sense of nostalgia.
Even though it is cliché, my last example is the Twilight movie franchise. I consider myself a big horror fan and I was far from pleased with the way the movies portrayed modern vampires and werewolves. Something else that really displeased me about the films was the less than mediocre writing done and the obviously Mary Sue-esque character of Bella Swan. Besides that I didn't feel the movies portrayed what could be considered a healthy relationship between the main characters which I think is really important to take into consideration in modern mainstream films.
This
is my second time applying for the GS programme, the first time being
back in 2015. Back then I was disappointed that I wasn't accepted,
but I very quickly realized it was the only possible outcome as I had
not spent as much time and effort on my portfolio as I would have
liked back then. Since then I have been working extra hard on my
portfolio and read a lot more different graphic novels to inspire me
and I feel much better prepared to hand in an application I feel I
can stand by.
After
I graduated from my HF at VUC in Nykøbing Falster I decided to spend
some time at Bosei folk high school in Præstø to get acquainted
with people my own age who were as interested in Asian culture as me.
I attended the school for 3 semesters, one of which I spent working
as a project coordinator. As a part of the experience I traveled to
both Japan (fall 2014) and Korea (fall 2015). It was very exciting
for me to experience the cities of Tokyo and Seoul and I would love
to go there again and hopefully check out some more traditional
artwork at the museums and rediscover the intricate culture.
When I went to Korea with my classmates, we visited Kyung Hee University for a day and trained taekwondo with the University students. It was a very tough and exhausting experience for me, but I was happy to push myself mentally and physically to a point I didn't know was possible.
I have been training taekwondo since I attended Bosei and after I left the school I started attending Vordingborg taekwondo club which has been very positive for me. Besides art, martial arts is the only thing that makes me rejoice when I see an obvious improvement in my skills. Training has meant a big difference in my everyday life as I am able to better relax and remember to stay focused and disciplined when I have a task to complete. I recently acquired my blue belt which I am very happy about.
Since I attended the folk high school it has been a huge turnaround for me to get friends my own age who accepted me for who I am and didn't judge me, when I told them I had an autistics diagnosis. I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when I was 12 years old. However, my symptoms have decreased significantly since I was diagnosed.
Because of my diagnosis I have been in the Danish psychiatric system for a few years and it has not necessarily always been for the better.
When I went to Korea with my classmates, we visited Kyung Hee University for a day and trained taekwondo with the University students. It was a very tough and exhausting experience for me, but I was happy to push myself mentally and physically to a point I didn't know was possible.
I have been training taekwondo since I attended Bosei and after I left the school I started attending Vordingborg taekwondo club which has been very positive for me. Besides art, martial arts is the only thing that makes me rejoice when I see an obvious improvement in my skills. Training has meant a big difference in my everyday life as I am able to better relax and remember to stay focused and disciplined when I have a task to complete. I recently acquired my blue belt which I am very happy about.
Since I attended the folk high school it has been a huge turnaround for me to get friends my own age who accepted me for who I am and didn't judge me, when I told them I had an autistics diagnosis. I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when I was 12 years old. However, my symptoms have decreased significantly since I was diagnosed.
Because of my diagnosis I have been in the Danish psychiatric system for a few years and it has not necessarily always been for the better.
I have been on Danish
welfare the past year and for the time being, I am working as an
intern at Toby's Ink, a local tattoo parlour where I make custom
designs for customers and help with practical tasks. If I get
accepted to the Graphic Storytelling I am planning on making a loan
at the SU Ministry to fund the education. I’m also looking into the
possibility of applying for various scholarships from funds that
specialize in helping out young people like me in my current
situation.
Like mentioned before it is my dream to create and publish graphic novels and I hope to someday use my experience and skills to create stories that will confront the prejudice that autistic people are often met with. It is something I have experienced myself, from people around me and from the Danish psychiatric system, and it is important for me to use my experience and hopefully help others who've faced the same issues I have.
I
hope this letter has given You some idea of what kind of person I am
and what I aspire to do.
Sincerely, Matt.
Sincerely, Matt.
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